SC Ventures, Standard Chartered’s innovation and fintech investment arm, and digital solutions provider KiyaAI have launched Akashaverse, an entertainment, social, e-commerce and lifestyle hub using immersive technologies and artificial intelligence.

Akashaverse aims to transform how people experience and engage with events, e-commerce and religious tourism, the companies say in a statement.

Powered by Bharatmeta, KiyaAI’s immersive experiences platform, Akashaverse intends to break down traditional barriers. Traditional experiences often necessitate physical presence, which could be limited by geographical, financial, health or logistical constraints. Akashaverse plans to utilize virtual reality ( VR ), augmented reality ( AR ) and artificial intelligence ( AI ) technologies to transcend these barriers and make experiences more accessible and inclusive.

Akashaverse will give users the ability to participate in virtual pilgrimages, visit virtual storefronts hosted by various brands for a reimagined e-commerce customer experience, and engage in bespoke events from anywhere in the world.

Through its commercial ecosystem, Akashaverse intends to provide its corporate clients real-time insights on product engagement from its customers and also enable a new innovative distribution channel.

“Akashaverse intends to transform the way people connect and interact with spaces and services that were previously out of reach,” says Sanjeev Mehta, founder and chief executive officer of Akashaverse. “Our hub is being designed to enhance engagement and interactions, and to enable users to immerse themselves in rich digital environments.”

A $168 billion market by 2032

By 2032, the market size for immersive technology is expected to reach US$167.75 billion, according to Precedence Research. Akashaverse will initially focus on India, leveraging advanced technologies such as 360-degree imagery, VR, AR, and AI to create immersive experiences across three main segments:

• Event booking platforms. Enhancing marketing and bookings through immersive previews of event spaces and facilities. This could help tap into India’s event and exhibition market, which was US$4.8 billion in 2023 and is projected to reach US$7.8 billion by 2029, according to Mordor Intelligence.
• Virtual pilgrimages. Immersive tours for devotees who face financial, health or logistical constraints. During the Covid-19 pandemic travel restrictions, there were increased demand for virtual pilgrimages. Project Akashaverse aims to tap into India’s religious tourism market, which is expected to reach US$3 billion by 2031, according to Coherent Market Insights.
• Virtual stores. Creating interactive shopping experiences that are integrated with Akashaverse’s event booking platform to offer users a unique opportunity to browse and purchase event-related merchandise, experiences, and services.  Akashaverse plans to support the burgeoning creator economy in India and enable users to offer services. Unlike other platforms, Akashaverse plans to make its virtual stores accessible without specialized hardware.

“KiyaAI's immersive platform blends real and virtual worlds. It empowers businesses to adopt cutting-edge technology by enabling visualization, online transactions, and interact with GenAI-driven virtual assistants,” says Rajesh Mirjankar, co-founder, managing director and CEO of KiyaAI.

“By leveraging its capabilities to integrate with the India Stack, it ensures these solutions work seamlessly within India’s digital ecosystem. This collaboration with SC Ventures reflects our shared vision of leveraging cutting-edge technologies to empower communities and create impactful digital ecosystems.”

Easy access and interaction

Users will be able to access Akashaverse’s hub through VR or AR sets, with easy login options available. Even without VR sets, 360-degree images are expected to provide users an immersive visual experience while browsing the digital products and services on Akashaverse. The hub is also expected to support virtual donations, via a third-party regulated payment institution, for pilgrimage sites and associated charitable organizations, fostering a bridge between financial institutions and society.

This is not SC Ventures’ first foray into the domain of immersive experiences. In 2022, SC Ventures purchased land in The Sandbox, a leading decentralized gaming virtual world, to create innovative experiences for clients and the community.

“It is inevitable that the evolution of Web3 will impact the way we do business in the future— with the integration of online and immersive environments creating demand for new business models and, at a minimum, the ability to operate the infrastructure in such spaces,” says SC Ventures CEO Alex Manson. “We think it is critical to build the muscles to serve customers in Web3 and, in that context, we are excited to see Akashaverse provide access to events, e-commerce and religious tourism.”